Leslie Grantham
Leslie Michael Grantham (born 30th April 1947 in Camberwell, London and died 15th June 2018 in Kensington, London) was a famous British actor, best known for his portaryal of the scheming Dennis Watts in EastEnders from the shows inception in February 1985 to February 1989 and then from September 2003 to February 2005. Leslie studied at the Webber Douglas Academy. His subsequent theatre work included a season of plays at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry which included The Visitors and Lady Chatterley's Lover. At the Bridge Lane Theatre in London, he played the lead in the play entitled T.K.9. Before joining the cast of EastEnders, he returned to Coventry to play Dallow in their production of Brighton Rock. His many television appearances include Goodnight and God Bless for Central TV and the role of a handyman/seducer in the ITV play I Thought You'd Gone. He also spent two weeks in India, playing a Cockney Army sergeant in The Jewel In The Crown. Leslie also played a bookmaker in the BBC Two play Jake's End, a deep-sea driver in the Central TV play Night of the Narrow Boats, and appeared in four episodes of Doctor Who in 1984. Before starting work on EastEnders he played Peter, a convict in the BBC drama Knock Back, and a villain in the Bulman series for Granada. Leslie didn't always play 'baddies', though. In the Mel Smith/Griff Rhys Jones film Morons From Outer Space, he was seen as a policeman. Den Watts, landlord of Albert Square's own pub The Queen Victoria, brought Leslie to the rise of fame and this character was his most notable role. Leslie initially auditioned for the part of barrow boy Pete Beale, but instead was offered the position of Den. The turbulence and additions the character of Den brought to the British screens, designated the character with the nickname "Dirty Den." Den was involved in some of the show's biggest storylines, which managed to hook viewers from the show's inception. In December 1986, the Christmas Day episode saw a huge 30 million viewers tune in to watch Den serve Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) divorce papers. Leslie's storylines mostly saw his character Den dealing with his disastrous marriage to Angie, whilst also undertaking several dodgy dealings on the Square. Leslie first departed from the series in February 1989, when his character was "killed" by the local yobs known as The Firm. Fourteen years later, in September 2003, Leslie returned to the role of Den, as it was revealed that Den had survived the shooting thanks to the assistance of his former mistress Jan Hammond (Jane How). Grantham's return was short-lived however, when the character of Dennis was killed on-screen in February 2005. Over 16 million people tuned in to watch the demise of Den on the show's twentieth anniversary episode. Following his second exit from the show, Leslie went on to direct and star in a pantomime production of Peter Pan ''in the Christmas of 2005. He also spoke publicly against the show after his 2005 departure, claiming that ''EastEnders was unrealistic as there was "a murder every week". Then in 2006, Leslie joined ITV cop-show The Bill ''to play a guest character on the run from prison. Leslie continued to star in television and theatre right up until 2018. In 2016, Leslie spoke out once again about his feelings towards ''EastEnders, when the show retconned his famous "Hello, princess" line, as part of a storyline involving Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) learning that her biological father was actually Gavin Sullivan (Paul Nicholas). Of the retcon, Leslie said: "Den is still remembered and people still ask me to say, ‘Ello princess’, because it was one of those bits that made him so popular. You do feel like you own it when you’ve made such an impact." He proceeded to state the show's writing was "pretty poor" as a result of the storyline. In 2018, Leslie received treatment for what was then an undisclosed illness. He passed away on 15 June 2018, at the age of 71. His cause of death was later reported to be of lung cancer. The episode broadcast on the night of the 15th June 2018 was dedicated to Leslie, with a title card tribute being shown at the end of the episode, post-credits. Category:EastEnders actors